'Oops!' Airline misspells its own name on plane

A popular airline has had to send one if its planes back to the workshop because of a glaring error which has seen it become the target of international ridicule.

Hong Kong based airline Cathay Pacific shared images online of what is reported to be a Boeing 777-367, with its own name misspelt as “Cathay Paciic“.

“Oops, this special livery won’t last long! She’s going back to the shop!” the airline tweeted.

The error was reportedly spotted by travellers and shared on the Hong Kong Aviation Discussion Board on Facebook before the airline announced it publicly.

There has been plenty of conversation surrounding what one person labelled the “Errorplane”, with countless Twitter users mocking the company.

“I guess the ‘F’ isn’t working on someone’s keyboard…” one person wrote, while another said, “Leave it as-is and put a red squiggle underneath.”

“Always proof-read talking slow and loud,” someone else tweeted.

The airline shared an image of a glaring error on an aircraft livery. Source: @cathaypacific/ Twitter

Not a publicity stunt, Cathay Pacific says

According to the BBC the error was genuine, and a spokesperson for the airline told CNN Travel it “did not intend to make it a big fuss in the first place, but photos went viral within the aviation enthusiastic groups, so we just shared the hilarious moment with everyone.”

However, a number social media users have questioned the mistake, calling it a “very interesting publicity stunt,” and someone else agreed it was “a very good way to do brand marketing.”

“There is absolutely no way the paint even dried on this plane before someone of competence noticed and rectified,” one person claimed.

An engineer for a sister company of the airline, Haeco, also queried the authenticity of the error, telling the South China Morning post, “The spacing is too on-point for a mishap.

“We have stencils. Should be a blank gap in between letters if it was a real mistake I think,” they said.

This Cathay Pacific aircraft has had to go back to the workshop with one Twitter user labelling it the “errorplane” Source: @cathaypacific/ Twitter

But if it is a genuine error many travellers are glad the airline “can have a laugh about this in public.”